The present invention relates generally to devices for restraining the movement of wheels and more particularly to a device, installable on a mass-transit vehicle such as a bus, for restraining the movement of a wheelchair.
Large numbers of handicapped persons are confined to wheelchairs, and, if these persons are to rely for transportation upon mass-transit vehicles (busses, subway cars or the like), provision must be made in these vehicles to accommodate the wheelchairs. Stopping, starting, turning or lurching movements on the part of the vehicle could cause a wheelchair to move creating danger for the wheelchair occupant and the other passengers in the mass-transit vehicle. Accordingly, a device must be provided to restrain the wheelchair from moving within the interior of the vehicle.
Prior attempts to construct such devices are disclosed in Downing et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,062,209 and in Barecki U.S. Pat. No. 4,113,270. However, these prior art devices have been relatively complicated, expensive to manufacture or unsightly, or they have occupied too much space.